• MODIS Pic of the Day 23 July 2022

    From Dan Richter@1:317/3 to All on Sat Jul 23 12:00:56 2022
    July 23, 2022 - A Summer Scene across the Balkans and Black Sea

    Balkan States, Black Sea
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    Summer sunshine highlighted the myriad colors of the Black Sea and
    surrounding landscape on July 22, 2022. The Moderate Resolution Imaging
    Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite to acquired a
    beautiful true-color image of the scene on that same day.

    The Black Sea, filling about one-third of the eastern side of the
    image, is decorated with swirls of greens and blues. These fanciful
    colors mark the location of a summer-time bloom of phytoplankton.
    Phytoplankton are the “primary producers” of the seas and oceans. These
    plant-like, microscopic algae, bacteria, and protists use chlorophyll
    to make food from sunlight and dissolved nutrients. More than 150
    different types of phytoplankton have been observed in the Black Sea,
    supporting a rich bounty of fish and other marine life.

    Six countries surround the Black Sea. From the north and moving counter
    clockwise, the countries seen in this image include Ukraine, Romania,
    Bulgaria, and Turkey. The Crimean Peninsula juts southward along the
    northern coast of the Black Sea and is partially covered with cloud.
    Crimea was transferred by the USSR to Ukraine in 1954 and was invaded
    by Russia in 2014. The CIA World Factbook lists Crimea as part of
    Ukraine, but notes “ 7.1% of Ukraine's area, is Russian occupied; the
    seized area includes all of Crimea and about one-third of both Luhans'k
    and Donets'k oblasts.”

    The green forests of the Carpathian Mountains, which sweep through
    Romania are the most notable landmark west of the Black Sea. More than
    half of the Carpathian Mountains belong to Romania. The portion of the
    Danube River south of the Carpathians forms the border between Romania
    and Bulgaria as it flows into the Black Sea. In the south, the white
    circle is Lake Tuz, located on the Central Anatolia plateau about 90
    miles (150 km) south-southeast of Ankara, Turkey. Lake Tuz was once the
    second-largest lake in Turkey but has become more of a large
    mineral-encrusted puddle than a lake in recent years. During some
    summers, it completely dries up.

    Image Facts
    Satellite: Terra
    Date Acquired: 7/22/2022
    Resolutions: 1km (3.2 MB), 500m (8.8 MB), 250m (6.5 MB)
    Bands Used: 1,4,3
    Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC



    https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2022-07-23

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